In Defense of Prof. Carol Nickalus

I have remained silent while another Amarillo College professor has courageously offered her opinions in the local newspaper. Virtually all of her columns have brought the right-wing nuts out of the woodwork. On the eve of July 4th, 2004, Professor Nicklaus wrote:

Web posted Monday, June 30, 2003
8:18 a.m. CT

Is America still beautiful?

By Carol Nicklaus
Opinion

"Oh beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountains' majesty

Above the fruited plain.

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood,

From sea to shining sea."

These poetic words from "America, The Beautiful," often called our second national anthem, will echo across our land during this week's celebration of our country's birthday. They were written in 1893, after a trip to Pikes Peak by the author, Katherine Lee Bates. The familiar music by S.A. Ward competed with 60 other versions. On this 237th celebration of democracy in America, the words have special meaning to us as our nation faces dangerous and difficult times.

The first verse of the song describes an America of bounty, but today the view from Pikes Peak is a little different. The crush of commerce is chipping away at our natural resources at a rapid rate under the eye and encouragement of a democracy that elevates capitalism over the commonwealth. Do we have the will to take the lead among nations to halt this unchecked race of exploitation of the beauties of our planet?

"Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare for freedom beat, Across the wilderness

America! America! God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm the soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law."

The first four lines of stanza two reflect the courageous spirit of those pioneers who persevered across the continent in spite of their fears and dangers. What would they think of us today as they see the fear of 9/11 paralyzing us?

The chorus of verse two differs from the others. "God mend thine every flaw." Can democracy have flaws? Oh, yes. Our freedom can allow exploration, but actions may go awry if we don't keep our wits about us. "Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law." Our nation's soul may have lacked self-control when we impetuously invaded Iraq with insubstantial claims sanctioned by our anxieties. In our alarm we have silently acquiesced to the denial of our constitutional liberties in the name of that amorphous concept, "The War on Terrorism." Read the Patriot Act I and the Patriot Act II to see those liberties of the Bill of Rights that are no longer protected.

"Oh beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears.

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,

And crown they good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!"

Today we hear a great deal about patriotism. Definitions include love of country and love of its natural resources. Patriots are willing to protect the nation from threat and aggression. Today, individuals are labeled unpatriotic when they do not fall lockstep into the mindset of our nation's political leaders. The administration's use of "patriot" to define one supportive of their views is a classic example of transvaluation, i.e., using words which define traditional values in new ways to skillfully create completely different meanings. According to William Sloan Coffin, "There are three kinds of patriots - two bad, one good. The bad patriots are the uncritical lovers and the loveless critics of their country. The good patriots are those who carry on a lover's quarrel with their country..." May God shed his grace on us to keep our minds sharp and our reason active in these perilous times.

Katherine Lee Bates issued a book of poetry in later years titled "America, the Beautiful." In this volume the title poem appeared at the beginning. She purposefully added additional poems opposing U.S. imperialism during the United States war with the Philippines in the last section of the book. In a speech to the 1928 National Education Association meeting, Bates stated, "One of the suggestions that was most insistent was that I add a stanza to express international brotherhood." Instead she suggested, "When you sing the first stanza, you think of "From sea to shining sea," as applying from the Pacific to the Atlantic around the other way, and all the states in between, and that will include all the nations and all the people from sea to shining sea." May we Americans not only enjoy singing "America, The Beautiful" this Fourth of July but also take to heart the patriotic words of Katherine Lee Bates.

Carol Nicklaus is professor of humanities at Amarillo College.
Professor Nicklaus received the James F. Veninga Excellence in the Humanities Award from the Texas Council for the Humanities in 2000.

I read an ad hominem attack on Professor Nicklaus by one of the prize-winning right-wing nuts in Randall County (Oscar Garner) last week. However, one assassination wasn't enough. Another ad hominem attack ran in the Sunday paper today. John Jenkins contibutes his views from Dallas from time to time. I am ashamed that I have hidden from these wackos. They are in a long line of nuts. When I first came to the College in the early 1970s, we had a John Bircher serving on the Board of Regents. He was convinced that I was a dedicated, conscious agent of the Communist Conspiracy. After he left the Board of Regents, the Bircher ran (unsuccessfully) for State Representative. His main campaign issue was the Panama Canal Treaty. Suffice it to say, the voters of that district in Amarillo were not particularly interested in the Panama Canal. Later, at a local Republican meeting, the Bircher's wife was standing next to another woman and as the Bircher was introduced, the bystander made a remark about nuts and wackos. At that, the Bircher's wife leaped upon the bystander and the local Republicans were treated to a girlfight (before it became fashionable). Both women went to the floor with hair-pulling and screaming. They don't make 'em like that anymore. In any event, here is the most recent attack on Professor Nicklaus.

Web posted Sunday, July 13, 2003
2:04 a.m. CT

Guest Column: A more optimistic view of July 4


By John Jenkins
Opinion

DALLAS - This past week my wife and I arrived back in Dallas after eight days of driving through North and South Carolina and Georgia. Starting in Charlotte and driving to Asheville, we spent a day at the Biltmore mansion inhaling the majestic beauty of that 8,400-acre estate.

We then drove southeast, descending out of the Smokey Mountains into the coastal plains of South Carolina. For two days, with friends from the area, we perused the beautiful area around Myrtle Beach. Then our friends there drove us through the lush pine forests and coastal marshes to Charleston, then on to Savannah.

Upon returning to Dallas, I read the June 30, "Is America still beautiful?" Carol Nicklaus had written in anticipation of July 4. In this tirade against America, she lamented the "unchecked race of exploitation of the beauties of our planet."

When was the last time she drove through rural America? Do we live in different countries?

Nothing during our trip had anything particular to do with July 4; however, there were some moments in the trip to remember besides the landscape beauty of our country. We attended the Carolina Opry and enjoyed a review of American culture, humor and music, concluding with a patriotic medley honoring those who had served their country.

My South Carolina friend and I toured the aircraft carrier, Yorktown II, in Charleston harbor. The first Yorktown was lost in the Battle of Midway, the turning point in the Pacific war. Then in Savannah, we toured the museum commemorating the 8th Air Force, which fought and won the air war over Western Europe from 1942 to 1945. As we went through these memorials, we both read and thought deeply about the many brave men who were willing to put their lives on the line to protect our independence.

How does each generation continue to find such selfless Americans?

It is, therefore, a great affront to brave Americans for Ms. Nicklaus to idolize William Sloan Coffin and his feeble attempt to define "patriot" so that he fits such a definition. Mr. Coffin is an abashed pacifist who never has or would defend his country. Had he been in Philadelphia in 1776, he undoubtedly would have chosen slavery under the British rather than freedom as an American. He would have protested the five-year war following July 4, 1776, that finally affirmed that Declaration of Independence at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781.

Ms. Nicklaus has difficulty in finding "America, the Beautiful".

She sees "the fear of 9/11 paralyzing us," a capitalism that has produced our wealth destroying us, our nation's soul that "lacked self control," and that we have "acquiesced our constitutional liberties."

If the Rev. Coffin is your icon, then what else can you be but afraid?

Ms. Nicklaus should realize that the real American patriots are not made from Coffin's mold. The real patriots are the men at Yorktown in 1781, those on the Yorktown during World War II, and the men of the 8th Air Force, who made the celebration of this Independence Day possible.

She might the follow paths that we and our friends took these past weeks.

She would find that there is much beauty within America and great strength of character within its people.

Then perhaps she would discover another, more optimistic view of America as it exists circa July 4, 2003.

John Jenkins, who lives in Dallas, is a former resident of Amarillo.

In the words of George II: Bring 'em on! These wackos just don't get it. Criticism is not treason. If it was, they would all still be in the slammer for their attacks on their bête noir William Jefferson Clinton. The nonsense they spewed then was exactly what they perceive in any criticism of the Boy King (George II) today. Well, they can have their John Birch. I am a follower of Luther Baldwin! If this be treason, make the most of it!